English, BA with Liberal Studies, MA Combined Degree
Program Requirements
The English Department and the School of Graduate Studies offer a combined Bachelor's and Master's degree in which students earn a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) with an English concentration within five-years.
Entrance requirements for ENGL/MALS degrees are:
- 3.0 GPA
- ENGL 3100 Intro to Literary Studies—grade of B or better
- ENGL 3110 Introd to Writing Studies—grade of B of better
- Acceptance into Graduate School
Freshman – Junior Standing Requirements
Students will complete the course requirements for undergraduate English, BA (https://catalog.clayton.edu/academic-catalog/arts-sciences/english/english-ba/).
Senior Standing Requirements
Students will complete up to 12 credit hours of approved graduate-level ENGL courses in their final 2 semesters along with their remaining undergraduate coursework.
The student must submit the following to Graduate Admissions during their senior year: application, application processing fee, and transcripts from all institutions attended. Letters of reference are also required.
Please Note: Your academic advisor knows the appropriate courses you need to take to ensure your success - please work closely with your advisor and take the courses that he/she recommends. Please also consult with Financial Aid to determine the particular courses and load you need to take to remain eligible for your aid.
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 1101 | English Composition I | 3 |
| CRIT 1101 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| SPAN 1001 | Elementary Spanish I | 3 |
| PSYC 1101 or SOCI 1101 |
Intro to General Psychology or Introduction to Sociology |
3 |
| MATH 1101 | Intro to Mathematical Modeling | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| ENGL 1102 | English Composition II | 3 |
| SPAN 1002 | Elementary Spanish II | 3 |
| MATH 1401 | Elementary Statistics | 3 |
| POLS 1101 | American Government | 3 |
| HIST 1111 or HIST 1112 |
Survey-PreModern World History or Survey of Modern World History |
3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| First Semester | ||
| SPAN 2001 | Intermediate Spanish I | 3 |
| HIST 2111 or HIST 2112 |
Survey of US History to 1877 or US HIST Since Reconstruction |
3 |
| ENGL 2111 or ENGL 2112 |
World Literature I -Pre-Modern or World Literature II - Modern |
3 |
| BIOL 1111 | Introduction to Biology I | 3 |
| BIOL 1111L | Intro to Biology Laboratory | 1 |
| ART 2302 | Art of the Modern World | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| SPAN 2002 | Intermediate Spanish II | 3 |
| BIOL 1112 | Introduction to Biology II | 3 |
| ENGL 2121 or ENGL 2122 |
British Literature I or British Literature II |
3 |
| ENGL 3100 | Intro to Literary Studies 1 | 3 |
| English Elective 1 *, 2 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Junior | ||
| First Semester | ||
| ENGL 3110 | Introd to Writing Studies 1 | 3 |
| ENGL 2131 or ENGL 2132 |
American Literature I * or American Literature II |
3 |
| Cultural Studies Elective 1 3 | 3 | |
| American Lit After 1850 ** | 3 | |
| 3000/4000 level Elective Class *, 4 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Cultural Studies Elective 2 3 | 3 | |
| Survey of Literature (C1) *, 5 | 3 | |
| English Elective 2 *, 2 | 3 | |
| English Elective 3 *, 2 | 3 | |
| American Lit Before 1850 (ENGL 5XXX) **, 4 | ||
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Senior | ||
| First Semester | ||
| ENGL 4011 | Critical Theory | 3 |
| English Elective 4 *, 2 | 3 | |
| English Elective 5 *, 2 | ||
| British Lit After 1660 ** | 3 | |
| 3000/4000 level Elective Class *, 4 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| 3000/4000 level Non-English Class 4 | 3 | |
| English Elective 6 *, 2 | 3 | |
| ENGL 4950 | Senior Capstone ((Depends on course rotation)) | 3 |
| 3000/4000 level Elective Class *, 2 | 3 | |
| British Lit before 1660 *, 7 | ||
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Fifth Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| ART 5000 |
Great Works in Art History (Satifies the MALS Foundation requirement) or Great Works in Music History or History of Mathematics or Classics in Philosophy |
3 |
| ART 5000 |
Great Works in Art History or Great Works in Music History or History of Mathematics or Classics in Philosophy |
3 |
| MALS 6995 or MALS 6890 |
Master's Thesis Research or Non-Thesis Prof Paper Research |
3 |
| MALS 5000 | Intro. to Graduate Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 5000 | Great Books | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| MALS 6999 or MALS 6899 |
Master's Thesis Preparation or Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam |
1-3 |
| Graduate level English Elective 6 | 3 | |
| Graduate level English Elective 6 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 7-9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 134-136 | |
Optional Summer Semester Between Senior and Fifth Year
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate level English Elective 6 | 3 | |
| Graduate level English Elective 6 | 3 | |
| MALS 5000 | Intro. to Graduate Studies | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 | |
If students choose the Optional Summer Semester between Senior and Fifth Year, they only need to take nine credits in the first semester and six credits in the second semester of their fifth year.
- *
Classes with one asterisk can be taken either 2nd semester sophomore or either semester junior years. But you still need to maintain rotation and take an asterisk course - it just could be one of the other asterisked courses.
- 1
Grade of B required in ENGL 3100 Intro to Literary Studies and ENGL 3110 Introd to Writing Studies for acceptance to the program.
- 2
English Electives (6 courses total) - Any 3000- or 4000-level English course.
- 3
Cultural Studies Electives (2 courses total)
- 4
Guided Electives (4 courses total) - any 3000- or 4000 level non-English course.
- 5
Survey of Literature (C1) - Students may take any English 2000 survey course to satisfy this requirement.
- 6
Graduate Level English Electives (4 courses total) - Any 5000 level non-English course.
- 7
Course counts towards both degrees.